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This is a proper lap around the Nurburgring

Wrestling a '60s-era Trans Am car around the 'Ring is a must-see

October 12, 2017

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A lap time at the Nurburgring has become as ubiquitous a spec as horsepower for any new, or even updated, sports car on the market. And what’s included every single time? A video of the lap. As impressive as it is, “the lap” is a simple formula. Plop your driver in the car, mount a camera on the rear windshield and let ‘em rip. All the laps look the same -- no tank slappers, panicked braking or even shifting. Just cut and paste, driver turns left, turns right, goes straight.

Don’t get us wrong. It’s nice of the manufacturers to share videos, but all the drama is gone -- which is why watching this video is so refreshing. It’s a 1968 Ford Mustang with Trans Am Homologation specs giving the Green Hell some hell. By today’s standards, this Mustang is slow, but the video is most definitely not.

The driver is working. Big inputs in the non-power-assisted steering are required to make the tight corners. It’s a four-on-the-floor manual transmission with shoulder stretching long throws. The car is unsophisticated and sloppy, and the Nordschleife requires immense precision. Muscling this pony car around here is like performing surgery with a chainsaw successfully. It’s brilliant!

The 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS just became the fastest production car around the Green Hell, Germany's 13-mile Nurburgring Nordschleife track. It crossed the line with a time of 6 minutes, 47.3 ...

And just because we’re in the mood, here is perhaps the most famous of laps around Germany’s most famous of road courses: Hans Stuck slicing his way through traffic in an M3 GTR race car.

Robin Warner
- Robin Warner is Editorial Manager at Autoweek. He once tried and failed to become a professional race car driver, but succeeded in learning about debt management and having a story to tell. A former engineer, Warner loves cars for their technology and capability.
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